Does the UI for S/4HANA change?

The S/4HANA transactions Cloud Edition will have all new, simplified user interface based on Fiori S/4HANA Business Process simplification with SAP Fiori

The S/4HANA on premise edition still provides the classic user interface as well.

With ongoing optimizations SAP provides new transactions like for example the new IP30H for PM Maintenance plans versus the classic Suite on traditional RDBMS transaction IP30.

For example in manufacturing SAP MII, HANA/ESP and Lumira (Technical) SAP provides built-in  Lumira capabilities.

Is Personas still available:

Yes, independent from the migration to the HANA data base or a new install of SAP Business Suite on HANA, SAP offers a new powerful way to personalize the SAP Business Suite experience: SAP Screen Personas, which allows Personalization without Programming.

SAP Screen Personas provides a simple, drag and drop approach to modify many common or classic SAP GUI screens to make them more usable as well as more visually appealing.

Check the video first: Seeing is believing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gquHYSGHol8&feature=youtu.be

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/Img/SAPScreenPersonas

http://www.slideshare.net/peterspielvogel/sap-screen-personas-overview-december-2012-15542219

Please bookmark this page and the SCN space for further updates:

S/4HANA Myth Buster – 10 Things You Need to Understand to Plan Your Road to Simple

What is the difference between SAP Business Suite, SAP Business Suite on HANA and S/4HANA?

The SAP Business Suite is optimized to run on traditional relational disc-based databases and to be database agnostics, which obviously created quite some overhead in the Business Application to cater for all the different database vendors as well to all the different database versions of these vendors.

SAP continues to provide enhancements via Enhancement packages for the years to come.

SAP Business Suite on HANA is optimized for SAP HANA database to the maximum extend of what is possible using a single code line which SAP Business Suite on HANA shares with the SAP Business Suite. Some of the optimizations are:

• Real-time OLAP capabilities inside the ERP system allows you to run all your operational reports directly in the source data using SAP HANA Live
• Fiori Smart Business Cockpits using SAP HANA Live providing real-time insights in real-time Business Processes
• Free Text searches – google-like experience in ERP improving for example customer service by reducing customer response times w regards to sales orders
• Eliminate batch processes and enable real-time operations like in Plant Maintenance

SAP Business Suite 4 HANA - S/4HANA is an ERP innovation based on a new and radically simplified data model design concept which is only possible with an in-memory database like SAP HANA. Please review this Video on YouTube  for more details.

Based on the new data model, S/4HANA replaces successively the old code line with a new code line which is unconstrained from the confinements of the traditional databases and which allows SAP, partner and customer developers to maximize the benefits of the modern in memory database technology to the fullest extent.

Modern in-memory technology as in SAP HANA we define as in-memory first processing instead of replicating a subset of data from disc to memory.

The first innovation delivered with S/4HANA is sFiN, available for cloud and on premise editions. Next lining up is a new project services module Video, currently only available in the cloud edition, and sLog, which will massively simplify the Inventory Management data model for all transactions using Inventory balances.

SAP is leading the S/4HANA innovation with the S/4HANA cloud edition, releasing 4 upgrades every year, which are available as a bundle once a year for on premise customers. This year’s sFiN release was an exception, as this release was available on premise and in the cloud at the same time.

sFin is mandatory for all additional, future innovations, as S/4HANA is a fully integrated system. A customer can choose if and which innovations to be switched on and when. Means a customer could decide to run sFin now, and sLog later or not at all.

Link to more details

As S/4HANA is based on a new code line, does this mean we need to migrate our data?

Because S/4HANA is using the new data model optimized for the new code line, yes, the data will be migrated from the old data model to the new data model during the activation of the new code line within the innovation exchange processes. This also includes the deletion of data from the now obsolete auxiliary tables like aggregates and secondary indices, which is the basis for the extensive footprint reduction from the SAP Busines Suite to S/4Hana.

Details how this will be managed for sFin is described in the admin. guide for sFin link in here: S/4HANA Finance aka Simple Finance aka sFIN. Data life cycle management optimization prior to the start of innovation exchange processes is recommended, as the less data are in the old data model the less data need to be migrated.

Please note that in order to build the beginning balances of a business year, at a minimum the data from the first period of the current business year need to be migrated.

In this context, BW capabilities are crucial in the move to S/4HANA as the mixed scenarios in BW allows business users to run reports partially on the old and the new data model. Near real-time data access can be accomplished with SAP LT SAP LT aka SLT, DXC, or  with SDA (SAP HANA Smart Data Access) in real-real time without data replication.

S/4HANA demo

Where can we find the roadmap for S/4HANA?
S/4HANA roadmap
Please check always for the latest version in http://service.sap.com/saproadmaps / cross topics / cross topics
Outlook: http://www.news-sap.com/what-is-sap-s4hana-13-questions-answered/

How can we experience S/4HANA?

on premise edition: http://www.zdnet.com/article/sap-launches-s4hana-on-premise-trial-via-amazon-web-services/

cloud edition:  sap.com/s4hana-trial

Experience how SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud Edition is designed to help you run simple in a digital and networked economy with this free 7-day trial. Explore predefined scenarios in Project Management and Finance, all utilizing the SAP Fiori user experience.

2. Business Simulation ERPsim4HANA providing S/4HANA experience - Real-time ERP Business Processes with Fiori UX - Real time analytics with Lumira

1 min Video, 7 min Video

Book the instructor course at OpenSAP: Facilitating ERPsim: Running Successful Business Simulation Games with ERPsim (Partner Course)

Book the training at the SAP training academy: ERPSIM - SAP ERP SIMULATION | SAP Training and Certification Shop

and/or contact your SAP Account manager

Back due to popular demand:

Do we still need BW?

Actually more than ever, because with S/4HANA we will add the internet of things to the Business processes, and while we are interested in the sensor data in real-time it does not mean that we want to store all sensor data in the ERP system forever.

Operational Reporting should go back to where it belongs, to the source, to the Business Process Management system, and not in a data mart.

Financial closing and  consolidation can be done at the source in ERP with sFin and the embedded BW, especially if a customer has a single ERP FI system.

Please see more thoughts on this in Thomas Zurek's blog:

S/4HANA and Data Warehousing

Will HCP HANA Cloud Platform be mandatory to customize S/4HANA?

S/4HANA on premise edition continues to provide all familiar enhancement capabilities, HCP is an additional option.

HANA Cloud Platform, why it is important from a customer point of view

The cloud editions will provide access to configuration tasks via Guided Configuration in S/4HANA . Details with regards to available scope modification and enhancements will be shared once the editions are released.

Does HCI HANA cloud Integration replace PI SAP Process Integration with S/4HANA?

No, HCI is complementary to PI, please see this link for more details:

SAP HANA Cloud Integration (HCI) - A complementary offering to SAP Process Orchestration (PO)

Official S/4HANA roadmaps including Cloud Editions and sLog can be accessed in the roadmap section of the SAP service market place under product roadmaps in the cross-topic area.

For the latest SAP solution roadmap webinars, please register here: North America (EN) LoB Solution Road Map Webinar for ASUG

New innovation delivered for SAP Business applications: https://apps.support.sap.com/innovation-discovery/index.html#//

SAP released Business Suite i2013 - Innovation 2013

which include new enhancement packages for all SAP Business Suite core applications: SAP ERP 6.0 EHP7, SAP CRM 7.0 EHP3, SAP SCM 7.0 EHP3, SAP SRM 7.0 EHP3. All these innovations are available with the SAP HANA database and the traditional certified databases, thus giving more choice to customers to continue to innovate without disruption.

Note: DB2 BLU and DB2 DPF are currently not supported. For details please see:

1819734 - DB6: Use of BLU Acceleration and 702175 - DB6: Support of DB2 DPF and DB2 pureScale

Minimum release(s) for Suite on HANA:

i2013 is the recommend minimum release for Suite on HANA. Exception: ERP 6.0 EHP 4 for SAP HANA Live https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59928

Direct updates to i2013 are possible for the following minimal source releases:

- SAP ERP: R/3 4.6C onwards

- SAP SCM: SCM 4.1 onwards

- SAP CRM: CRM 5.0 onwards

- SAP SRM: SRM 5.0 onwards

Where can we find the latest releases for SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA

SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA

http://help.sap.com/soh

SAP Business Suite Powered by SAP HANA , current restrictions: - 1774566

SAP ERP powered by SAP HANA

• SAP ERP 6.0 EHP 7

With SAP enhancement package 7 for SAP ERP 6.0, SAP is enabling most areas of the existing SAP ERP functions for SAP HANA to utilize the in-memory technology and enable better performing business applications.

Fact Books for SAP Business Suite on HANA by LoB and Industry

Help overview: http://help.sap.com/erp_607

Release Notes: http://help.sap.com/erp_607#section1

SAP Note - 1865866

• SAP Business Suite on HANA optimizations by transactions and ABAP programs:

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59889 and https://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1789659

• Overview Suite on HANA Restrictions:1774566
• 1768031 for Release Restrictions for SAP EHP 6 for SAP ERP 6.0, version for SAP HANA
• 1768032 for Release Restrictions for SAP EhP 2 for SAP CRM 7.0, version for SAP HANA
• 1768043 for Release Restrictions for SAP EhP 2 for SAP SCM 7.0, version for SAP HANA
• 1789659 Release Restrictions for SAP Netweaver AS ABAP 7.40

SAP CRM Customer Relationship powered by SAP HANA

http://help.sap.com/crmhana

• Release Notes for SAP EhP 3 for SAP CRM 7.0

https://websmp101.sap-ag.de/~sapdownload/011000358700000842532013E/EHP3_RN_EN_SP01_Final.pdf

• Release Notes for SAP EhP 2 for SAP CRM 7.0,version for SAP HANA

https://websmp203.sap-ag.de/~form/sapnet?_SHORTKEY=01100035870000429833&_SCENARIO=01100035870000000202&_OBJECT=011000358700001246912011E

• SAP CRM on HANA Optimizations and current restrictions, SAP Note: 1768032

SAP SCM Supply Chain Management

http://help.sap.com/scm_hana

• SCM 7.0 EHP 3

https://websmp202.sap-ag.de/~sapdownload/011000358700000800892013E/SCM703_ReleaseNotes_EN.pdf

• SAP APO 7.0 EHP 3 on SAP ERP 6.0 EHP 6/7

https://websmp202.sap-ag.de/~sapdownload/011000358700000800912013E/APO703_ReleaseNotes_EN.pdf

• Restrictions: SAP EhP 2 for SAP SCM 7.0,version for SAP HANA - 1768043

SAP PLM Portfolio and Project Management 6.0

1826332  - FAQ PLM

What is the latest Release for SAP Applications powered by SAP HANA?

SAP Accelerated Trade Promotion Planning 2.0

SAP Collections Insight 1.0, powered by SAP HANA

SAP Demand Signal Management 1.0, powered by SAP HANA

SAP Liquidity Risk Management 1.0, powered by SAP HANA

SAP Operational Process Intelligence 1.0

http://help.sap.com/aph

Where can we find the latest Release for SAP HANA Analytics Foundation SAP HANA Live - Real-Time operational reporting for SAP Business Suite?

http://help.sap.com/hba

What is new in SAP HANA Platform SPS 10:

https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/06/16/new-sap-hana-sps10/

What is the latest SAP HANA Database revision?

In addition to HANA releases and specific HANA application releases like BW on HANA an dSAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA, SAP provides innovations via the HANA database revisions.

Overview SAP HANA revision strategyand corresponding blog: https://blogs.saphana.com/2014/04/02/when-to-upgrade-your-sap-hana-system/

OSS note 2021789  - SAP HANA Revision and Maintenance Strategy

Where can I find all the SAP HANA master guides?

On the SAP help Portal. Please see this link to a central landing page with all technical documentation.

http://help.sap.com/hana_appliance

Where can I find the roadmap for all SAP HANA applications?

SAP has  a growing list of existing SAP applications powered by HANA as well as new native on HANA developed applications to bring innovation and real-time solutions to SAP customers.

http://service.sap.com/~sapidb/011000358700001243642011E.pdf

Is there a central landing page for SAP product roadmaps:

Yes, there is one on the SAP Service Market Place:

https://websmp110.sap-ag.de/saproadmaps

What is different with S/4HANA on premise edition with regards to the system architecture?

S/4HANA is cloud ready and the advantages of the multi tenant database architecture usually only reserved for SaaS applications can be also used by the S/4HANA on premise edition.

MDC OSS notes

2104291 - FAQ - SAP HANA multitenant database containers

2096000 - SAP HANA multitenant database containers - Additional Information

1661202 - Support multiple applications one SAP HANA database / tenant DB

2121768 - Considerations with SAP HANA multitenant database containers and SAP BW

MCOD OSS notes

1826100 - Multiple applications SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA

Can we run more than application on a single SAP HANA database?

With SPS 9 SAP provides multi-tenancy capabilities to run multiple applications in individual containers (MDC - Multiple Data base Containers) on a single HANA data base, which basically replaces the MCOS/D concepts, although you can run MCOS/D in a single HANA container.

The footprint for each SAP HANA database container is less than 6 GB enabling and safeguarding unique security for each tenant, for business users and system administrators.

If a customer chooses MDC, all application run on a single db, means same revision and everything related to this, and a customer can choose a different HA/DR concept and different backup provision for each container.

More details in the TechEd && d-code 2014 session DMM109, and https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/01/27/sap-hana-multitenant-database-containers/

Multiple Applications or Production instance can share a single SAP HANA database and hardware:

SAP recommends to use a 3-tier landscape for on premise, standard SaaS cloud deployment can run in a 2-tier setup.

WIth SDA smart data access and SDI smart data integration S/4HANA can drastically simplify traditional system architectures as SAP HANA Studio views can consume data using SQL without physical data replication at HANA speed as the data reside in the same in-memory database instance.

The power of Smart Data Access (SDA) with SAP HANA SP08

SDA and SDI in SAP HANA SPS 9

SAP HANA Master Guide incl. SDA

MCOD/MCOS

For Multiple applications running together on one SAP HANA data base, SAP uses the term MCOD - Multiple Components One Database.

For Multiple Components on one appliance with  multiple SAP HANA schemas and data bases SAP uses the term MCOS -  Multiple Components One Systems.

For example, one scenario is to run SAP HANA Live and a SAP HANA datamart together with BW on one SAP HANA database.

SAP supports deploying and running multiple applications on a single SAP HANA production appliance only for packaged applications and scenarios listed on the "White List" included in Support for multiple SAP HANA based applications running with a single SAP HANA system. If a particular packaged application or scenario is not on the "White List", then it is not currently supported to run together on the same SAP HANA production instance with any other packaged application or scenario.

Whitepaper - SAP HANA System Landscape Guide

Co-Deployment

In addition to MCOS/MCOD, SAP introduced the concept of co-deployment for applications which can run as add-ons for ERP implementations sharing the HANA database as well as a single schema and most importantly maybe the DDIC Data Dictiponary, reducing the need for data governance concepts. Considerations from a SLA perspective with pro and cons for the different deployment options are explored in detail in the TechEd 2013 session RDP102.

Overview

Can we run SAP BW together with SAP Suite on SAP HANA database?

BW can be run in MDC deployments with Suite applications but we recommend to evaluate in detail the pros and cons of combining a relatively small footprint in ERP with a large Data Warehouse footprint using BW.

For customers where one use case scenario for BW together with BPC/IP/BCS is the financial closing processes, SAP provides with sFIN and Suite on HANA the possibility to eliminate data transfers between systems and enables the Business to run trial P&L and Balance Sheets any time of the day and any day of the quarter, as SAP CIO Helen Arnold describes in this video.

The system architecture behind this real-time closing process is the Embbedd BW. Please see Embedded Business Warehouse | on SCN for up-to-date information, and please note that SAP does not recommend to use the embedded BW for a data warehouse use case.

Can we run the SAP ABAP Application Server on the SAP HANA database server?

Yes, https://blogs.saphana.com/2013/12/31/announcement-sap-hana-and-sap-netweaver-as-abap-deployed-on-one-server-is-generally…

SAP Release Note – 1953429 for SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP on one server.

Other SAP Notes:

Current status for multiple applications (or scenarios) running on one production SAP HANA appliance with SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA

BW on HANA  deployment options

Support for multiple SAP HANA based applications running with a single SAP HANA system

SAP NetWeaver 7.4 Java on HANA 

SAP NetWeaver Development Infrastructure NWDI on HANA

SAP NetWeaver Process Integration PI on HANA

What are the Business Process changes to run MRP in real-time rather than in batch processes?

Real-Time Value for Manufacturing powered by SAP HANA

MRP on HANA: What's new?  by Caetano Almeida

Is your system prepared to take advantage of MRP on HANA?

MRP Live: Incompatible Changes - Carrying Out the Planning Run Using MRP Live - SAP Library

Real Time Inventory with SAP S/4HANA - YouTube

Can we run MRP in a SAP HANA side car?

No, MRP can only be run directly on a SAP S/4HANA system. You could replicate the tables from a ERP on AnyDB system to a SAP HANA sidecar system, but the MRP algorithm needs the complete S/4HANA  system to run and to persist the results.

It is often mentioned that SAP HANA uses an „insert only“ approach. What does this mean for you as ABAP

developer?

HANA column store backgrounds (INSERT ONLY)

Performance Guidelines for ABAP Development on the SAP HANA Database

If we move to S/4HANA, what happens to user exits and modifications?

The recommendation is to analyze your custom code and optimize for SAP HANA processes.

  1912445 - ABAP custom code migration for SAP HANA - recommendations and Code Inspector variants for SAP HANA migration

Best Practice Guide - Considerations for Custom ABAP Code During a Migration to SAP HANA

ABAP on HANA - from analysis to optimization | SCN

Optimizing Custom ABAP Code for SAP HANA: The new ABAP SQL Monitor Guide | SCN

White paperTransitioning Custom ABAP Code to SAP HANA - Best Practices and Recommendations

ABAP Code Pushdown through SAP HANA | SAP TechEd Online

Performance Guidelines for ABAP development on SAP HANA database - PDF

https://websmp104.sap-ag.de/~sapidb/011000358700000365292013E.pdf

ABAPers: HCP and You

Background on how ABAP developers can use the HCP HANA cloud Platform

How does ABAP help to leverage the benefits of in-memory database technology?

1. AS ABAP running on a traditional RDBMS can access SAP HANA by means of a secondary database connection
2. With SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.3, the SAP HANA database can be used as primary persistence for SAP NetWeaver BW for mainly OLAP use cases.
3. With Suite on HANA, SAP HANA  can also used as the underlying database  for transactional use cases by facilitating a deeper integration of ABAP developments with SAP HANA and thus ease leveraging the strengths of SAP HANA within the application logic.

With regards to SAP Business Suite on HANA, not the side car scenario:

If a new custom table is developed/defined in the ABAP DDIC / data dictionary, what is the correct process to make the DDIC information available in the SAP HANA studio, and if a definition changes in the DDIC, how is this synchronized with the SAP HANA Studio?

With SAP Business Suite on Hana (not in a sidecar scenario), the DDIC objects are immediately visible in the SAP HANA Studio

How can we call stored procedures developed through the SAP HANA studio in the SAP HANA DB in ABAP using “call database procedure”?

The procedure should be created first in HANA studio.  Then from the ABAP, the procedure definition to generate the call database procedure proxy, can be read.

How can we debug?

In the near future HANA release, the plan is  that you can debug directly from ABAP into the procedure by setting a breakpoint in the procedure via the studio.

How can we handle the correction and transport for stored procedures? Can we transport the code (application code and the stored procedure) all in one package?

From future HANA releases the plan is that you can debug directly from ABAP into the procedure by setting a breakpoint in the procedure via the studio.

Answers courtesy of Thomas Jung. Please see his blogs on SCN for more details.

How can a customer analyze the impact of a SAP HANA database migration for custom ABAP code?

The transaction “Code Inspector”  will analyze custom ABAP code after a migration to the SAP HANA database. Please note, that not all lines of code marked by the Code Inspector might require action. The code analysis is static and will show slow code, even if the data set used in the ABAP is very small, and therefore the performance impact could be neglected and code tuning would not be required.

Additional testing can determine for which programs to actually apply the identified changes, and where significant performance gains could be accomplished. These testing efforts are usually in the 5 days range for the customers who used the Code Inspector in the past

It is planned to make the Code Inspector also available to SAP customers prior to a HANA database migration.

Please see the link to the Statement of Direction for ABAP for SAP HANA.

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-29357

Please visit this SCN space ABAP for SAP HANA for details:

http://scn.sap.com/community/abap-for-hana

http://scn.sap.com/community/abap-for-hana/blog/2012/10/29/new-scn-space-abap-for-sap-hana

For the integration of the ABAP ADT Development tool with HANA development in SAP HANA studio:

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-29297

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXg7xXrEAUw

For the "Road to HANA for Software developers":

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-31723

I am an ABAP developer. Can I still use my ABAP skills with HANA or do I need to use SQL/SQL Script?

ABAP runs in NetWeaver and NetWeaver runs on many traditional databases. SAP HANA is new database that is added to the list of supported databases of the NetWeaver stack. In the future ABAP will remain a very important language as most SAP solutions are written in ABAP, independent of the underlying database.

However, in order to take full advantage of the in-memory capabilities of HANA in the future much more code will be written and executed directly in the database.

Please see the link to sapinsider article for a three step approach to optimize ABAP code for SAP HANA.

Here are some excerpts from an interview with Thomas:

http://scn.sap.com/community/distinguished-engineers/blog/2012/12/18/the-unofficial-uncensored-thomas-jung-biography-hana-distinguished-engineer

How did the journey from ABAP programmer to HANA programmer feel?

At first it feels a bit foreign because you have to immerse yourself in the database - the database for an ABAP programmer is like a black hole where data goes into and comes out of, and we don't understand it - and we don't care. It's just a big storage space. So we have to begin to care, write more complex SQL like SELECT SUM, Subquery and ORDER BY - all the things we got used to doing at the application server layer. Once you get past this learning curve, moving things to the database that you used the application server for before....

Once you're up to HANA SP05, and using SAPUI5 and Server Side Javascript, it's not all that different to ABAP. Syntax is different but developers pick that up fast. Rich Heilman and I started to feel that things were falling into place, we're creating reusable libraries in JavaSCript and we're doing things we did in ABAP, like creating message class processing like we did in ABAP. Once you've got utilities, it starts to feel really familiar. The workflow for the development process itself is very familiar.

What advice you would give to someone wanting to program in HANA?

Learn some SQL. Get an Advanced SQL book like O'Reilly's Learning SQL. Immerse yourself in that lower-level SQL. Particularly ABAP developers have ignored this for a number of years. Once you're better versed on SQL - just get out and use it. Use the HANA on the Cloud, Developer Center - there are some really low cost options for getting access to HANA and educate yourself. Create something, build something, write SQL - or do something more advanced like creating Analytics Views, SQLScript and eventually HANA Application Services development. That's where traditional ABAP and Java programmers will feel most comfortable.

Please also see this link from Tobias Trapp for advice:

http://scn.sap.com/community/abap-for-hana/blog/2012/10/01/first-experience-with-abap-on-hana-evolution-or-revolution

Where can I get support if I want to develop on the SAP HANA platform?

There is a HANA developer website, please see attached link.

http://scn.sap.com/community/developer-center/hana

What is the SAP Collaboration website for customers and developers?

The saphana website is the central place to share information specifically for HANA. In addition there is also a chapter on the SAP Developer Network for HANA.

http://www.saphana.com/welcome

Where can I find specific information for developing in ABAP on BW on HANA?

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59800

What are the SAP HANA capabilities for High Availability (HA) and Disaster Tolerance (DT)?

https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/12/07/whats-new-in-sap-hana-sps11/

Overview deck SAP HANA Backup and Recovery

Introduction - SAP HANA in Data Centers

Zero Downtime Maintenance.

Central SAP note High Availability

five 9s - 99.9% uptime across 200TB HANA environment

SGI - Press Releases: SGI Exceeds 200 Terabyte Milestone in Total Systems Running SAP HANA

What is the required bandwidth to support HA/DR capabilities?

High Availability and Disaster Recovery with SA... | SCN

During a power failure, will the information stored in the memory be lost?

Every SAP HANA system, hence a ERP powered by SAP HANA environment, has a persistent storage to back-up all information on a constant base, from which the data of a ERP on HANA system can be restored into In-Memory.

How are the HA/DR processes/services for the non-HANA based Application Servers impacted?

They remain the same, no changes here:

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-26718

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-7848

SAP HANA Tailored Data Center, hardware and storage options

SLA definitions in %:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_availability

HP Technical Whitepaper for SAP HANA Disaster Tolerant Solution

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=4AA1-4846ENW&cc=us&lc=en

IBM Whitepaper on High End SAP HANA IT landscapes

http://www.saphana.com/docs/DOC-3211

SAP HANA for Oracle Developers by the SAP HANA Academy

A Guide to SAP's Development Environments for SAP HANA and the Cloud

http://sapinsider.wispubs.com/Assets/Articles/2015/January/SPI-a-guide-to-SAPs-development-environments-for-SAP-HANA-and-the-cloud

Information for SAP HANA Partners

10 Facts About the New Unified Developer License | SAP TechEd Online

What´s New? SAP HANA SPS 07 Web-based Development Workbench

What´s New? SAP HANA SPS 07 SAP HANA Studio Development Perspective

SAP HANA Cookbook for MySQL Developers

Can we still use ABAP for SAP HANA?

Yes: ABAP and SAP HANA

What are the best practices for to optimize query runtimes in SAP HANA?

This webinar provides lessons learned and best practices for SAP HANA query developers. Performance in SAP HANA Databases - Webinar

SAP central note SQL optimization

How does SAP HANA support Text search?

The specified item was not found. provides full exposure in SQL and a HTML5 InfoAccess Toolkit

scn.sap.com/community/replication-server/blog/2014/02/27/how-toload-sap-long-text-to-hana-using-slt

Does SAP HANA support JSON?

How to create your geoJSON model of the world a... | SCN

How can we access a SAP HANA system to practice our SAP HANA developing skills?

SAP offers a SAP HANA Developer Edition on Amazon Cloud:

http://www.saphana.com/community/learn/cloud-info/hana-platform-aws

http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2012/11/05/get-your-own-piece-of-sap-hana-one

If I have a new Business idea to develop applications on the SAP HANA platform, which support does SAP provide?

SAP offers the SAP HANA Startup program to enable developers to get a jumpstart with SAP HANA:

http://startupfocus.saphana.com/

Can we run SAP HANA in a virtualized environment for Production environments as well?

Yes, the SAP customer AMG-Mercedes is live running SAP HANA in a virtualized environment in production. The VMware vSphere 5.5 solution is in GA General Availability, since SAPPHIRE 2014. The multi VM version is in entering Controlled Availability.

For all the details please see Arne Arnold blogs and updates:

SAP and VMware Announce SAP HANA for Production Use on VMware vSphere 5.5

IBM Power virtualization for SAP HANA

SAP Notes:

SAP HANA support for VMware vSphere Environments - http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1788665

SAP HANA on VMware vSphere in production: http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1995460

How to set up your personal SAP HANA system in the cloud:

scn.sap.com/community/abap-for-hana/blog/2013/04/10/experience-the-magic-how-to-setup-your-own-abap-on-hana-in-the-cloud

Can we use VMware to deploy SAP HANA?

Yes, for production and non-production systems (also combined) in a single vSphere 5.5, non-production for vSphere 6.0 up to 4TB scale-up for S/4.

SAP Notes:

SAP HANA support for VMware vSphere Environments - http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1788665

SAP HANA on VMware vSphere in production: http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1995460

For the latest status please subscribe to this SAP Note: http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1788665

and this blog: http://www.saphana.com/docs/DOC-3334

Can we use IBM Power Virtualization?

Yes, please see this blog for more details

Do we need to have a Development, QA/Staging and a Production environment for SAP ERP powered by SAP HANA?

Yes, the standard SAP best practice for a release and production support landscape also applies to SAP ERP on HANA.

Can we connect a HANA datamart to a SAP ERP powered by SAP HANA system?

Yes, in a sidecar scenario, we can connect a HANA data mart, or a BW on HANA system, or a combined HANA data mart and BW on HANA system to an ERP on HANA system.

Can we install more than one application on a SAP system running on a SAP HANA database?

Yes, SAP maintains a "White List" containing all applications to be run on a single HANA data base. Please see this link fo rmore details:

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59893

and please subscribe to this SAP Note for the latest updates:

http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1661202

What are the Business Process changes to run MRP in real-time rather than in batch processes?

Real-Time Value for Manufacturing powered by SAP HANA

MRP on HANA: What's new?  by Caetano Almeida

Is your system prepared to take advantage of MRP on HANA?

MRP Live: Incompatible Changes - Carrying Out the Planning Run Using MRP Live - SAP Library

Real Time Inventory with SAP S/4HANA - YouTube

Can we run MRP in a SAP HANA side car?

No, MRP can only be run directly on a SAP S/4HANA system. You could replicate the tables from a ERP on AnyDB system to a SAP HANA sidecar system, but the MRP algorithm needs the complete S/4HANA  system to run and to persist the results.

Do I need to upgrade my Legacy database before we can move to S/4HANA, and how can we provide fallback options to the Business during the migration to minimize disruptions?

Simplifying the move to S/4HANA has never been easier as SAP offers

• Only one business downtime for update and migration performed by a single tool - Software Update Manager (SUM)
• File space is not required for export/import
• Reduced downtime due to partly uptime migration
• Reduced downtime due to memory optimized export/import
• Reduced testing efforts (only one system test after migration)

The Database Migration Options (DMO) of the Software Update Manager (SUM) combines a SAP upgrade and the migration from AnyDB to SAP HANA. For more details, please see this link on SCN for always up-to-date information: http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-49580

SAP note for DMO for SAP Business Suite systems (Suite-on-HANA, including ERP, CRM etc.)

Best practice guide for rapid database migration of Business Suite as attachment in SAP note 1821999

10 Golden Rules for SAP Suite on HANA & S/4HANA Migrations by John Appleby

SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions

SAP Service Marketplace - Migration to Suite On HANA

A better way to migrate your SAP data with Rapid Deployment solutions: Overview

The Business Suite on HANA cookbook provides the step-by-step instructions you need to successfully deploy SAP S/4HANA, as the intial steps are  shared. The difference between SoH and S/4HANA is in the S/4HANA-only deployment of the new code line via exchange innovation, which de-activates old code and  activates new code with a simplified data model.

The activation of the new code line can be performed by every customer at their own pace. Because S/4HANA is an integrated system with Finance at the heart of every operation, sFin S/4HANA Finance aka Simple Finance aka sFIN is the first step for every other innovation based on the new simplified data model.

Innovations based on optimizations only can be used with the traditional FI setup.

The cookbook shows you how to perform a new installation or upgrade and migrate from an existing environment to the SAP HANA database. To help you prepare for the deployment, the cookbook includes a technology overview, business value description, and adoption path.

ERP to S/4HANA cookbook

CRM on HANA cookbook

Is the entire SAP NetWeaver database including metadata converted from RDBMS to the SAP HANA in-memory database?

Yes, the RDBMS is completely removed from the technology stack and by default, all data is migrated. The Database server will completely run on the SAP HANA database.

Best Practice Guide - Classical Migration of SA... | SCN

Does the basis administration change for SAP Business Suite powered by HANA?

The basis administration does not change and can continue  with the same SAP NetWeaver ERP tools.  However, customers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the modeling, monitoring and administration capabilities in SAP HANA .

SAP highly recommends to use SAP Solution Manager to have a common administration and monitoring tool for SAP NetWeaver and SAP HANA processes.

http://help.sap.com/hana/hana_admin_en.pdf

DBACockpit for SAP HANA in SAP NetWeaver 7.3

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw73/helpdata/de/47/87bfe9cb044ef3a1811a7ff235d0d3/frameset.htm

SLT Data Replication Administration Guide

http://help.sap.com/hana/hana_slt_tom_en.pdf

What is the difference between SAP HANA Live and S/4HANA Embedded Analytics?

Both are standard SAP delivered content for real-time operational Reporting, but use different technology. While SAP HANA Live uses native SAP HANA SQL views and the SAP HANA S/4HANA Embedded Analytics is based on ABAP®-managed core data services (CDS) of the ABAP layer of SAP. S/4HANA. CDS views can be maintained in ABAP for Eclipse.

SAP HANA Live and SAP S/4HANA Embeded Analytics can be utilized for the Fiori UX.

In General one could say that SAP HANA Live is content for the SAP Business Suite on HANA, while S/4HANA Embedded Analytics is content for the new simplified data models in S/4HANA. Please see this YouTube Video for background information on the simplified data model.

First content of S/4HANA Embedded Analytics has been shipped with S/4HANA 1511 in the areas of FI, SD, Inventory Management PP and Procurement.

From the FAQ:

SAP HANA Live offerings will continue to be supported as an important native capability of the SAP HANA platform. New data models of SAP HANA Live for SAP Business Suite were released in April 2015, and the next release is planned for Q1/2016. For the latest SAP HANA Live release notes, please see the SAP Help Portal SAP HANA Live – SAP Help Portal Page - Please note that the link in the FAQ document is invalid.

Existing content in SAP HANA Live will remain valid with no changes required – until a customer decides to move to SAP S/4HANA. At that time, it is possible to either modify existing SAP HANA Live models to the new data structures of SAP S/4HANA or migrate to the new technology using CDS.

The SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) application powered by SAP HANA is our strategic solution for enterprise data warehousing. There is significant ongoing investment in and development for SAP BW and SAP BW powered by SAP HANA, and new features are introduced with each new release. Check out the latest road map and release information at http://service.sap.com /roadmap .

Source: SAPInsider: A Deeper Look into SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics

What is SAP HANA Live?

Real-Time operational reporting directly on your Suite on HANA and S/4HANA system without any redundancy or latency. Alternatively in a sidecar scenario next to your existing SAP Business Suite deployment on AnyDB.

SAP HANA Live provides SAP-delivered content (similar in concept like SAP BW content), in form of SAP HANA calculation views for real-time operational reporting. The content is represented as a VDM - virtual data model, which is based on the transactional and master data tables of the SAP Business Suite. The SAP HANA Studio is the SAP HANA application where the calculation views for these VDM are developed and maintained.

WIth S/4HANA the data models will be much more simplified, an overview of the design concept is provided in this video S4HANA Technical White Board - YouTube.

SAP HANA Live is ideally suited as a Self-Service BI component for SAP Business Suite users requiring operational analytics.

SAPInsider presentation:

http://scn.sap.com/community/embedded-analytics/blog/2013/09/02/hana-live-webcast-summary

slides:  http://wcc.on24.com/event/67/02/32/rt/1/documents/slidepdf/sap_hana_live_insider_20130828_final2.pdf

How can SAP HANA Live be used together with SAP NetWeaver BW?

SAP HANA Live is complementary to the SAP Enterprise Data Warehouse application SAP NetWeaver BW, and can be co-deployed with BW and combined in mixed scenarios:Mixed scenarios: BW on HANA and HANA datamart

Go Hybrid - SAP HANA Live & SAP BW Data Integration!

SAP HANA Live - and BW integration

With sFin the embedded BW has gained new importance, Thorsten Franz's blog Embedded BW is the new reality explains new and old features.

Release Notes:

SAP HANA Live for SAP Business Suite 1.0 – SAP Help Portal Page

Which tables and fields are used in the SAP HANA Live delivered views?

In the help documentation below details like table names and  filtes used are listed, for example

SD Delivery

(tried to paste the direct link in here, but either SCN technology or policies do not allow for that, sorry for that will try later again)

Documentation for

Does SAP provide RDS material for SAP HANA Live?

Yes, please see the links to SCN community the RDS http://service.sap.com/rds-shl (RDS-Analytics-HANA Live) and this SAP note , which also includes a SAP HANA Live QuickGuide

Two deployment scenarios are possible:

• SAP HANA Live as a SAP HANA side car to SAP Business Suite applications on traditional RDBMS (Pre-requisite is SAP LT Replication Server), for example together with a SAP NetWeaver BW on HANA system
  • Go Hybrid - Combined SAP HANA Live and SAP BW deployment scenarios
• SAP HANA Live on the same system as SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA, means the
  • SAP ERP HANA Live views on SAP ERP on powered by SAP HANA,
  • SAP CRM HANA Live views on SAP CRM powered by SAP HANA
  • SAP SCM HANA Live views on SAP SCM powered by SAP HANA

What are the leading practices for SAP HANA implementations?

SAP HANA Studio offers currently three types of views: attribute views, analytical views and calculation views, with calculation views available in two flavors: graphical  models and  or script-based models.

The SAP HANA graphical calculation views are recommended as the preferred SAP HANA Live view type. In case there are some required features are not yet available in graphical calculation views, then script-based calculation views may be used instead.

In General, SAP HANA  attribute and analytical views are not the preferred SAP HANA views for SAP HANA Live implementations.

Can we extend the delivered SAP HANA Live content?

Yes, SAP HANA Live can be adjusted to any Industry, can easily be enriched with non-SAP data and can include customizations.

Of course the Standard SAP best practices for customizations also apply to SAP HANA Live, in order to avoid overwrite during upgrades and patches. During Ramp-up extensions are only possible with support of SAP. Furthermore limitations are described in SAP Notes 1778607 and 1800631.  SAP will deliver extensions to the initial data models from different transactional areas as well as industry applications.

Please see the link for the How-to-Paper, which you an also find attached to this link below:

How to Realize Cross System Reporting Using SAP HANA Live Content

Demo How-To-Extend HANA Live Query Views:

http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/08/29/create-your-own-query-views-based-on-hana-live

Can we modify the delivered SAP HANA Live data models?

Yes, SAP HANA Live can be adjusted to any Industry, can easily be enriched with non-SAP data and can include customizations.

Of course the Standard SAP best practices for customizations also apply to SAP HANA Live, in order to avoid overwrite during upgrades and patches. During Ramp-up extensions are only possible with support of SAP. Furthermore limitations are described in SAP Notes 1778607 and 1800631.  SAP will deliver extensions to the initial data models from different transactional areas as well as industry applications.

Please see the link for the How-to-Paper, which you an also find attached to this link below:

How to Enhance SAP HANA Live | SCN

Demo How-To-Extend HANA Live Query Views:

http://www.saphana.com/community/blogs/blog/2013/08/29/create-your-own-query-views-based-on-hana-live

• Query views are designed for direct consumption by an analytical application (for example based on HTML5) or a generic analytical tool (for example SAP BusinessObjects tools). They are always the top view in a hierarchy of views and are not designed for reuse in other views. However, the virtual data model also includes query views in order to support (showcase) applications based on the virtual data model. The name of a query view ends with 'Query' and provides output fields in a format consumable by UIs.
• Value Help views provide value lists for specific business entities that are used by query views. They are used by frontend tools in order to enable a value help for respective input fields for variables or parameters assigned to these business entities.
• Reuse views are the heart of the virtual data model. They expose the business data in a well-structured, consistent, comprehensible way covering all relevant business data in SAP Business Suite systems. They are designed for reuse by other views and must not be consumed directly by analytic tools.
• Private views encapsulate certain SQL transformations on one or several database tables or even other views. They are not classified as reuse views as they might not carry clear business semantics but are rather intended to be reused in other views of the virtual data model. They are comparable to subroutines or (private) methods in programming languages. A private view may be based on database tables, other private views or on reuse views.

Can we copy the delivered SAP HANA Live data models?

Can we use SAP HANA Live Content for Cross System Reporting?

Yes, please see for more details:

How to Realize Cross System Reporting Using SAP HANA Live Content

What is the security/authorization model for SAP HANA Live?

Please see this link for an overview on the authorization and security aspects: https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59929

What is the minimum ERP release to utilize SAP HANA Live?

SAP recommends ECC 6.0 EHP7 to use the full content. The current minimum release is ECC 6.0 EHP4. for details please see the release notes in http://help.sap.com/hba

SAP HANA Live is also the foundation for SAP HANA Smart Business Cockpits:

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-59898

How can I see the tables used for SAP HANA Live calculation views?

Please see this YouTube video for an example of a SAP HANA XS demo application which is utilized to get the list physical tables of views.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah2p5Hdh_kY

SAP HANA Live has a browser to view the models:

How-to-Document: Utilize the View Browser Application Which Accompanies SAP HANA Live:

https://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-40300

How does SAP HANA Live differentiates from SAP Embedded Reports and Operational Data Providers?

SAP Embedded reports became available with SAP ECC 6.0 and EHP 5 and Operational Data Providers with EHP 6. SAP HANA Live became available with SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA and is based on SAP HANA calculation views.

Which User Interface UI / front-end is required for the SAP HANA Live for Reporting?

SAP HANA Live reports can be accessed by HTML 5, native Excel or SAP BusinessObjects Business Analytics applications.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_hba/helpdata/en/df/65d36d2bec49e189f5452da92669ea/frameset.htm

Which user interface is used to access the back-end modeling?

The application back-end can be accessed using the standard SAP HANA Studio functionality. In order to access the structures and elements of the virtual data model inside SAP HANA Live without installing SAP HANA Studio, the html-based SAP HANA Live View Browser can be used (also for documentation).

Which SAP BusinessObjects analytical solutions are available for SAP HANA Live?

Recommended (but not limited to) for the first version of SAP HANA Live are:

SAP Crystals Reports for Enterprise 4.0.4

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis (Edition for Microsoft Office) 1.0.3

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards 4.0.4

SAP Lumira - Lumira documents for HANA Live | SCN

Comparison of same business process using traditional UI and  S/4HANA screens using SAP Fiori UX:

Experience Transformation with SAP Fiori UX – Process Receivables - YouTube

Experience Transformation with SAP Fiori UX – Post Incoming Payments - YouTube

Experience Transformation with SAP Fiori UX – Payment Proposals - YouTube

Experience Transformation with SAP Fiori UX – Clear Incoming Payments - YouTube

Customer experience: Unilever Goods and Invoice Receipts Reconciliation

Blog and Video

SAP had an open developer Fiori competition as part of free online course "Build Your Own SAP Fiori App in the Cloud" which delivered through the openSAP platform and offered a holistic approach to app design, including design thinking. The initiative resulted in the design of more than 1,500 unique SAP Fiori® apps created by customers, partners and students on SAP HANA® Cloud Platform.

Winners and examples can be viewed here

Add a custom field: An example on SAP Fiori Demo Cloud Edition

SAP delivered Examples:

All Things SAP Fiori

SAP Fiori UX App Types and Database Requirements

• Transactional apps (for SAP Business Suite on SAP HANA database and on traditional RDBMS)
  • Task-based access - Access tasks to create, change, approve processes with guided navigation
• Fact sheets (for SAP Business Suite on HANA)

  • Search and explore - View essential information about an object with contextual navigation between related objects

• Analytical apps (for SAP Business Suite on HANA. In general also possible to run in a SAP HANA sidecar scenario)
  • Insights - Get a visual overview of a complex topic for monitoring or tracking purposes
• Smart Business ((for SAP Business Suite on HANA. In general also possible to run the analytical section of the Smart Business app in a SAP HANA sidecar scenario - exception: MRP)
  • Insight to action cockpit - Analyze and evaluate strategic or operational KPIs in real time and trigger the right action

For the analytical apps, Fiori utilizes the HANA Studio capabilities, therefore it will be worthwhile to explore if for example a Lumira deployment on top of HANA Live might be advantageous for a sidecar scenario, though a Fiori deployment in a sidecar scenario is technically feasible.

Fiori can be implemented as an end-to-end guided business process enabler which allows to combine insights with actions in a single screen. Executable actions in a sidecar scenario can be limited from an architecture perspective and might require write-back features to ERP.

Customers and partners can build their own Fiori applications using the Fiori development toolkit.

From a technical perspective Fiori is based on SAP UI5, which is based on HTML5 based standards. Fiori is optimized for web browser and provides mobile consumption. The back end connectivity is provided by SAP’s oData (Open Data Protocol). Backend functionality is exposed by SAP NetWeaver Gateway services, which provision single point of access across SAP HANA and ABAP application security.

Fiori Apps Library

Catalog of SAP Fiori UX Apps

List of SAP Fiori UX Apps by SAP products/applications in SAP help

Fiori Library by Line of Business, Industry, roles, Application component etc.

SAP Fiori UX Apps screenshots

For which countries are and Smart Business Apps available for sFin?

• SAP Note 2153644   Please this note for latest status of availability of Fiori and smart Bus Apps for sFin.

Do we need to deploy SAP Portal in order to use Fiori?

SAP Portal is the recommended point of access: SAP Portal and SAP Fiori - Common Architecture | SCN

SAP Fiori UX Apps central landing page in SCN

Top 10 Fiori Apps

SAP Smart Business Applications Examples:

SAP Working Capital Analytics, DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) Scope:

Working Capital Management Demo - SAP Smart Business Apps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO_bZygKd9Y

SAP Invoice and Goods Receipt Reconciliation:

Video:
SAP GRC Access Control Role Analytics:http://www.saphana.com/docs/DOC-2888

Video: http://www.saphana.com/docs/DOC-2889

SAP SCM Supply Chain Info Center:

Video: http://www.saphana.com/docs/DOC-2890

This blog has been posted also in the SAP S/4HANA  space. This happened on purpose and we will harmonize and consolidate thecontent in the future as SCN will be renewed - details in   Future of SCN - Another Update #1DXCOMMDEST

Latest update:

S/4HANA Extensibility – 1511 On-Premise Extensibility Features for Key Users

SAP HANA Cloud Platform Developer Center

What are the S/4HANA capabilities to support customer and partner extensions, customization and modifications?

In general with S/4HANA, SAP suggests to differentiate between in-app and side-by-side (ex-app) extensions. This SAP white paper provides insights and guidance:

"Extensibility covers a broad spectrum of topics that allows customers and partners to adapt standard business software to their business needs. It ranges from business configuration; layout adaptation of user interface (UI), forms, and reports; custom fields and logic; integration; and custom terminology and translation to customer-specific applications. Extensibility in theSAP® S/4HANA can be categorized into two main parts: side-by-side extensibility through SAP HANA® Cloud Platform, and in-app extensibility through built-in capabilities"

Obviously the focus for the cloud edition is on ex-app extensibility to maximize SaaS capabilities, whereas for the on premise edition SAP continues to offer all traditional modification, custom coding (z-nnn) and customization capabilities as well.

SAP LT or SLT and HCI are used to connect between on premise, cloud edition and HCP and HEC.

For more details on HCP - HANA Cloud Platform extension capabilities, please see this link IoT Internet of Things and S/4HANA how HCP can support for example new IoT Internet of Things capabilities while we can maintain high-cadence innovations cycles for S/4HANA.

We will update this space as more details will be be made public.

For more background and different view points, please see also these discussions/pages

Will HCP HANA Cloud Platform be mandatory to customize S/4HANA? in S/4HANA - SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA overview

Overview of SAP S/4HANA Cloud options

Mastering SAP Technologies 2015 Melbourne and especially the corresponding comment section (over 100 comments and counting), where for example Bjoern Goerke;provides additional information.

S/4HANA Finance is the current terminology for initial term sFin

S/4 Central Finance Admin Guide

SAP Simple Finance, On-Premise Edition 1503 SPS 4 and SAP S/4HANA, On-Premise Edition 1511 FPS01

SAP Best Practices Baseline V3.607

• Pre-activated business content scope with sample data, adjusted for SAP Simple Finance 1503 SPS1505:
• End-to-end business processes across Finance, Controlling, Manufacturing, Services, for example Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay; localized for US, Germany and China
• End-to-end Business processes for Chemicals and Discrete Manufacturing industries, localized for US
• SAP FioriApps
• SAP BOBJ reports and Lumira reports
• Sample scenario using Personas UX technology

SAP Best Practices for SAP S/4HANA integration with SAP Financial Services Network

More Best practices on SAP Service Marketplace

S/4HANA Finance is either available as integral part of S/4HANA Enterprise Management 1511

S/4HANA 1511 on premise edition – SAP Help Portal Page

or as an add-on in the S/4HANA 1503 release aka sFin 2.0 aka SAP Simple Finance On Premise edition 1503 Release

2117481 - Release Information Note: SAP Simple Finance, on-premise edition 1503

SAP Simple Finance On Premise Edition 1503 – SAP Help Portal Page

Simple Finance On Premise Edition 1503 SPS 1511Admin Guide

SAP S/4HANA Cookbook: SAP Simple Finance, On-Premise Edition 1503

Pre-requisites EHP, Kernel and NetWeaver version (please always check for the latest version on the SAP Roadmap websites):

SAP Simple Finance add-on 2.0 for SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2117481

Financials processes released for usage with SAP Simple Finance add-on 2.0: http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2119188

Recommended: Master Data Management for sFin - MDG SAP Master Data Governance 8.0 http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2143725

• SAP Note 2119188   Release scope including industry solution status
• SAP Note 2103558   Availability/Compatibility of SAP add-ons
• SAP Note 2100133   Availability of partner add-ons
• SAP Note 2153644   Availability of country versions - currently. 62 - some restrictions apply. Incl. availability of Fiori and smart Bus Apps for sFin.
• SAP Note 1976487   Information about adjusting customer-specific modifications/programs using simplified data model in SAP Simple Finance
• SAP Note 1946054 - SAP Simple Finance, on-premise edition: Transaction codes and programs - Comparison to EHP7 for SAP ERP 6.0
• SAP Note 2131643 - Replacement of SAP Simple Finance add-on 1.0 reporting content with SAP Simple Finance, on-premise edition 1503

What is sFin?

SAP has developed a new SAP HANA-based FI solution, which is available with SAP Business Suite 4 HANA, or S/4HANA. The new SAP S/4 FI solution is based on the atomic level of FI Line Item tables and uses SAP HANA calculation views to provide real-time insights into FI processes. Simple Finance allows SAP customers to run trial Balance sheets, P&L's and Cash flow analysis any time of the day and any day of the quarter.

sFin replaces the classic SAP FI application, if a customers chooses to install sFin.

sFin 2.0 is in GA since March 31st 2015, and includes SAP Accounting powered by SAP HANA (sFin), SAP Cash Management and SAP Integrated Business Planning (IP and BPC and embedded BW) for Finance and additional innovations in the areas of Treasury and Financial Risk Management, Collaborative Finance Operations etc..as well as the Universal Journal.

What is Central Finance?

Central FI system is a S/4HANA Finance system which can combine FI/CO data from distributed ERP landscape or as a sidecar to an existing ERP on AnyDB. The central FI system requires a full S/4HANA ERP system, but only the FI/CO part needs to be configured. The data between the source and the sFin target system are replicated using a SAP LT system.

The side car approach also allow customers to close the books in parallel in the existing ERP and using the sFin configuration.

How does archiving impact sFin, considering that sFin has eliminated materialized aggregates and Line Items required to calculate totals have been archived already?

Please see this blog for details, please note that the term data tiering can be used at SAP for multiple solutions, In this blog, data tiering is looked at in the context of the S/4HANA data aging concept.

https://blogs.saphana.com/2015/06/02/keeping-track-totals-case-data-tiering-archiving-data-aging-sap-simple-finance/

Is there SAP HANA Live content for sFin?

yes

2148105 - Release Information Note: SAP HANA Live for SAP Simple Finance, On-Premise-Edition 1503

2131643 - Replacement of SAP Simple Finance add-on 1.0 reporting content with SAP Simple Finance, on-premise edition 1503

1967187 - Activation errors for SAP HANA content package sap.hba.ecc in SAP Simple Finance, on-premise edition

please note that some VDM virtual data modles are amndatory to activate in sFin

Do the BW DataSources still work?

SAP provides compatibility views to support existing data sources. There is also a new BW DataSource for the universal journal: 0FI_ACDOCA_10

In this OSS note the current status is described how to activate the delta queues after migration to sFin 2.0:

   2142781 - DataSources 0FI_GL_12, 0SEM_BCS_12 and related ones are not updating delta queue

SCN community SAP S/4HANA Finance

SAP Simple Finance Add-On for SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA – SAP Help Portal Page

Best overview:

Detailed blog by sFIN Product Management

Detailed blogs:

How sFin removes redundancies

How sFIN removes redundancies: The case of materialized views

sFin Hypercubes

Which migration steps are required to use sFin, do we need to use the NewGL, what about CO-PA?

Please see SAP help for sFin migration

All details are maintained in the SAP sFin Administrator's Guide, latest version is available at the SAP Service market Place service.sap.com/erp-inst under Business Suite Applications, ERP add-ons, simple finance. The NewGL migration needs to happen prior to a sFin implementation, currently no simultaneous process possible.

The NewGL functionalities Parallel ledger and Document Splitting can currently not be activated in S/4HANA FI, therefore need to be activated prior to a S/4HANA Finance implementation

Account-based CO-PA is integrated into the Universal Journal Entry, Cost-based CO-PA is not, but can still be run in S/4HANA Finance. Account-based CO-PA should be activated during the initial implementation, as entries are an extension of the Accounting documents. The Accounting documents can not be changed retroactively, therefore any activation after go-live can only be applied going forward.

Process of Migration to SAP Accounting powered by SAP HANA - Migration to SAP Accounting powered by SAP HANA - SAP Libra…

How long does a migration to S/4HANA Finance take?

Using the NZDT (Near Zero Down Time) Method the technical downtime can be reduced to several hours, the actual data migration depends on the volume and the archiving steps being taken. Please contact SAP services and your SAP partner for specifics.

http://Service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/2175941

What is the impact of sFin in CO - Controlling?

Please see this help section for more details SAP Simple Finance Add-On - SAP Library

sFIN provides a much smaller overall data footprint by eliminating application-built indices and aggregates (and of course custom built ones), and also major reduction of the required in-memory footprint by with new algorithm to differentiate between actual/dynamic (still changeable) and historical/static data (no longer changes and updates required). For more details please see Hasso Plattner's blog on sERP's simplified landscape considerations part 1 and part 2

Which Reporting capabilities are offered with sFin?

Customers can use new dashboards based on Fiori layout options, SAP Smart Business Apps, SAP Analysis for Office and SAP HANA Live and new sFIN HANA Live content

Depending on the requirements, reports can be built in HANA Studio, or also via the embedded BW. In both cases the data are virtually consumed, in the case of the embedded BW either via ODP's (Operational Data Providers) and/or Virtual Info Providers and/or Transient InfoProviders, whereas the ODP's offer more extensibility options than the VP's. Reports can be built on top of Composite Providers, and thus providing full hierarchy support.

More details in: Embedded Business Warehouse | SCN

Another decision criteria is how much standard content should be (re-)used versus custom built. Currently content is delivered via these packages: sap.erp.sfin.co.pl  , sap.hba.sfin700 and sap.erp.sfin.fi.gl

What are the SAP notes for SAP Financials add-on (aka sFIN)?

1968568 - Financials add-on for SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA 1.0: Release Scope Information

2012817 - Financials add-on for Business Suite powered by SAP HANA 1.0: Compatibile Partner Products

1946054 - Smart Financials package 1.0: Transaction codes and programs - Comparison to EHP7 for SAP ERP 6.0

How can we migrate to SAP Accounting powered by SAP HANA?

The minimum release requirement is ERP on HANA, ECC 6.0 with EhP7.

Please always check the SAP PAM Product Availability Matrix http://bit.ly/HANA_PAM for the latest requirements. Although we try our best to keep this FAQ as up-to-date as possible, only the PAM is the official information.

Where can we see a demo of sFin?

Please see the SAP Executive Keynote of Bernd Leukert, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE at the 2014 TechEd && d-code event in Berlin A demo of sFin by Ian Kimbell starts around 1:09:00 into the recording and is based on SAP's internal live/productive implementation of sFin

Do we lose our historical data if we use the new solution?

No, the existing data are not deleted. It might be worthwhile to consider ILM Information Lifecycle management options and data warehousing solutions like SAP BW for data outside the SLA's for operational reporting to take full advantage of the reduced footprint, which the new solution offers. In addition SAP offers the Data Aging functionality for ERP on HANA  for TCO considerations, if a customer wants to store a large history of financial data in the SRP system.

What Data Lifecycle Options does SAP provide for SAP Financials on SAP HANA (sFin and/or SAP ERP on HANA) ?

Data Aging has been introduced for Suite on HANA for technical and for business objects. Financial documents for sFIN is one of the first business objects available

Does sFIN supports Contract Accounting FI-CA?

FI-CA EhP7, SP05 can run generally with SAP Simple Finance add-on in one system, if the system uses one of the for CA required SAP IS Industry Solutions

Details in OSS note 2027972

sFIN uses the BPC and embedded BW application for Financial Planning and Consolidation, how does SAP Cloud for Planning fit in?

SAP Cloud for Planning is a SaaS public cloud planning solution, which does currently not provide financial consolidation. The integrated planning in sFIN uses BPC and IP capabilities on top of the embedded BW to enable a "soft" close, where you run a trial Balance Sheet and P&L across your complete enterprise any time of the day and any day of the week in a single instance with zero latency.

Please stay tuned for further announcements on SAP Cloud for Planning

Why All the Buzz Around SAP Cloud for Planning? | CFO Knowledge